managerial accounting textbook recommendation...

0 November 5, 2014

Managerial Accounting Textbook Recommendation Report

ENGLISH 3880 SECTION 601

JENNIFER BEICHNER

Recommendation Report 1

Executive Summary

Purpose

This report provides an analytical review of two different textbooks: Managerial Accounting

by Karen Wilken Braun and Wendy M. Tietz and Accounting Principles: A Business

Perspective, Managerial Accounting by J.D Edwards, R.H. Hermanson, and S.D Ivancevich.

The purpose of this report is to aid the ECU textbook committee in choosing an appropriate

text for an entry level Managerial Accounting course. Reviewing these text for other courses

or higher level Managerial Accounting courses is outside the scope of this report. The

recommendations within are based on my personal evaluation only. No outside sources or

statistical data were considered.

In order to provide students with an effective textbook each option was evaluated for content,

graphics, exercises, and supplemental material.

Criteria Analysis

Content

Content was evaluated to ensure that an entry level student would be able to read the text and

comprehend the concepts. Based on the analysis, it was determined they both met the basic

necessities but the Braun/Tietz book proved to be the better choice for content, as it included

a multitude of background information for each concept and consistently explained how each

new concept relates to each of the previous skills and concepts.

Graphics

For the graphics evaluation graphics must provide a relevant relationship to the material and

be audience appropriate. The Braun/Tietz book had several graphics throughout the entire

text. They were all relevant to the material and not overused simply to fill whitespace or

break up long blocks of text, although they were successful in making the pages more

aesthetically appealing. The Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich graphics were to some extent

overly technical.

Exercises

The practice skills in each of the books were evaluated based on the quality and quantity of

the exercises. The Braun/Tietz had a daunting number of questions while the alternative text

had a more manageable quantity of problems but they were poorly organized. Because the

exercises were very similar is quantity and quality I based my recommendation on which was

more audience appropriate, therefore, the Braun/Tietz book is the better choice.

Supplemental Material

The comparison of the two texts was simple as the Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich text did

not offer any supplemental materials. The Braun/Tietz book offers an impressive package of

supplemental materials through the publisher’s website. Some offerings include: additional

exercises, demonstrated examples, and videos.

Recommendation

Based on the evaluation all the established criteria I recommend that the Braun/Tietz book,

Managerial Accounting, be used for the entry level course.

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Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 1

Purpose .............................................................................................................................................. 1

Criteria Analysis.................................................................................................................................. 1

Content .......................................................................................................................................... 1

Graphics ......................................................................................................................................... 1

Exercises ......................................................................................................................................... 1

Supplemental Material .................................................................................................................. 1

Recommendation ............................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Criteria Justification ............................................................................................................................... 4

Content .............................................................................................................................................. 4

Graphics ............................................................................................................................................. 5

Exercises ............................................................................................................................................. 5

Supplemental Material ...................................................................................................................... 5

Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Content .............................................................................................................................................. 5

Braun/Tietz..................................................................................................................................... 5

Edward/Hermanson/Ivancevich .................................................................................................... 6

Comparison .................................................................................................................................... 6

Graphics ............................................................................................................................................. 6

Braun/Tietz..................................................................................................................................... 6

Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich ................................................................................................... 7

Comparison .................................................................................................................................... 7

Exercises ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Braun/Tietz..................................................................................................................................... 8


Comparison .................................................................................................................................... 9

Supplemental Material ...................................................................................................................... 9

Braun/Tietz..................................................................................................................................... 9


Comparison .................................................................................................................................... 9

Summary of Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 9


Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Content ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Graphics ............................................................................................................................................ 11

Practice Exercises ........................................................................................................................... 11

Supplement material ....................................................................................................................... 11

Recommendation ............................................................................................................................. 12

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Introduction Keeping in mind that accounting requires progressive understanding of concepts and

recalling numerous formulas; the textbook is the main life line for students to have as a

constant reference throughout the entire course. Thoughtful consideration in choosing an

informative yet practical book is imperative for student success.

The contents of this report will provide an evaluation of two textbooks for an entry level

managerial accounting course and provide a recommendation as to which would be the most

appropriate choice for the course. The texts are Managerial Accounting by Karen Wilken

Braun and Wendy M. Tietz and Accounting Principles: A Business Perspective, Managerial

Accounting by J.D Edwards, R.H. Hermanson, and S.D Ivancevich. My evaluation is based

on the following criteria:

Content-The complexities of the material require detailed explanation of concepts

and relatable examples

Graphics-Because mathematical information can often be visual it is important to

evaluate the effectiveness of the graphics provided in each book.

Exercises- It is important to determine if the text provides adequate exercises for

practice as practicing the skills and concepts addressed in the text is necessary for

understanding and retaining information.

Supplemental Material-evaluating whether or not the book has supplemental

material included and/or the quality of the supplemental material is essential

because it provides an additional resources to aid in student success.

This report is directed to the ECU textbook review committee and will include the following

elements:

1. Introduction

2. Criteria Justification

3. Analysis

4. Summary

5. Conclusion

6. Recommendation

My report compares two textbooks to be used in an entry level managerial accounting course

and provide justification as to why one book is the better choice for a specific course.

Providing a recommendation for higher level accounting courses or any other entry level

course is outside of my scope.

This report and recommendation is based solely on my analysis of the two textbooks. The

limitations of the report include lack of outside input and statistical data.

Criteria Justification

Content

The most essential component of a textbook is its content. Each course is designed around a

specific set of learning goals and your textbook should align with those goals. Managerial

accounting covers a broad range of accounting concepts including:

Explanation of Managerial Accounting


Costing Methods

Cost Behavior

Cost Analyses

Budgets

Standard Costs and Variances

Sustainability

The content should clearly address these concepts and provide detailed explanations and

examples of these concepts. Additionally, the content should be geared towards entry level

students. Appropriate content would begin with basic background information and progress

to more advanced topics without extending into more advanced course matter.

Graphics

Textbooks employ various elements to enhance student interest and comprehension. In

managerial accounting concepts such as trends and behaviors can be visually demonstrated

and graphics can provide as a vital learning tool. Effective graphics would be appropriately

technical, relevant subject matter, and provide a visual example of the content. Additionally,

effective graphics would be used strategically to break up blocks of text and provide some

visual relief to the reader

Exercises

In chapter and review exercises are critical in helping students understand concepts and

should be high in quality and quantity. This is especially true in accounting courses where the

success is based on applying concepts rather than memorizing facts. Each chapter should

contain basic exercises that allow students to practice the fundamentals of the concepts and

then progress into real-life application and critical thinking problems. By including both

simple and challenging problems students have the opportunity to directly see how the

concepts develop. Additionally, repetition aids in learning and having multiple problems that

apply the same concepts will allow the student ample opportunities to practice that skills they

are learning.


Many textbooks offering a variety of online and interactive supplements to accompany their

books and these materials can be a valuable asset. The supplemental materials should be

easily accessible for all students and provide unique learning opportunities for the student. I

do not feel having material identical to the regular text adds any value. Each student’s

learning style is different and by providing unique and interactive materials students are

offered another perspective to gain understanding of the material.

Analysis

Content break up the long paragraphs with lists to make the information easier to parse

Braun/Tietz

The Braun/Tietz book does a great job of organizing content at the beginning of each chapter.

Students that find reading textbooks overwhelming due to the amount of information may

feel more at ease with the aesthetically pleasing layout of chapter material and learning

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objectives. Each chapter also starts with a brief narrative about a real business and how it has

applied that chapter’s learning objective to become successful. The example is broken down

and used throughout the chapter. This allows students to learn the material and have a

consistent real-world example in which they can relate to the chapter material. The book

shows appropriate progression, not only within each chapter, but throughout the book as a

whole. The beginning chapter explains what managerial accounting is and each chapter

builds on top of the previous chapter content, eventually leading up to the last chapter that

explains how to apply all the concepts and maintain sustainability. Each chapter is divided

into sections and aptly progresses from beginning to end. There are at least two detailed

examples that directly relate to each section. Throughout the text previous concepts are

referenced to show how the learning objectives build upon each other allowing entry level

students to understand the importance of grasping each concept.

Edward/Hermanson/Ivancevich

The content of this textbook is adequate. It does address the basic managerial accounting

concepts in a reasonable amount of detail. The beginning of each chapter provides a list of

learning objective that the student should be able to understand by then end of the chapter. I

find this helpful as an organizational tool as well as a reference tool for students. For entry

level students background information and clear progression is important because it aids in

understanding how and why a concept is used. The depth of coverage is not exactly

impressive as they do not provide enough background information. There are examples for

each section but tends to read like a long word-problem which can become overwhelming for

beginners. When reading new information I find that explaining the information then having

a separate examples that points out how it relates to the content is easier to comprehend.

Comparison

The Braun/Tietz text is a better option for the entry level student. It shows clear progression

from basic to more advanced concepts while encouraging comprehension by consistently

showing students how concepts relate to each other. Additionally, the design of the content

of the Braun/Tietz text is more appealing to a beginner student. The information is broken up

into manageable sections that are easy to follow. While the Edward/Hermanson/Ivancevich

text provides similar information it is not as effective as the alternative.

Graphics

Braun/Tietz

Some chapters in the Braun/Tietz book appear to be dense with words and a lack of white

space while others are filled with graphics. However, it is apparent that the graphics used are

relevant to the content and have not just been inserted to take up space. There is a collection

of charts and tables as well as drawings of financial reports. The financial report examples

may be one of the most effective graphics in the book because it personifies the adage “a

picture is worth a thousand words.” As a reader of the text, the phrasing used to describe

how the financial statements should appear became confusing until I was able to visualize it

with the graphic. The graphics used are unquestionably appropriate for entry level accounting

students because they are elaborate but not overly technical. Figure 1 shows an example of

how the Braun/Tietz book utilizes various graphics to explain the text.


Figure 1. Graphics Example. Braun/Tietz implements combination of drawing and chart as a visual aid

Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich

This text does integrate some effective graphics. There is not a significant variety of graphic

styles used throughout the text. The majority of graphics used are charts and they are detailed

and relevant to the content. Unfortunately, they tend to be dull are not aimed at entry level

students. Figure 2 provides an example of a chart used within the text. It is detailed and

relevant to the content, however, it is still dominated by text.

Figure 2. Edward/Hermanson/Ivancevich Graphics example. Shows typical graphics use throughout the book

Comparison

Keeping in mind the value of graphics as a learning aid; it is important to have audience

appropriate graphics and use them effectively in an effort to keep the reader interested. Both

textbooks have informative graphics, however Edwards/Heman/Ivancevich text falls short

compared to the Braun/Tietz book. The graphics in the former are dull and verbose and

could have the potential to overwhelm entry level students. Braun/Tietz utilizes a variety of

visually stimulating graphics, not only throughout the book, but throughout the chapters as

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well. The graphics in the Braun/Tietz book are also effective in breaking up long paragraphs

and making use of the white space. Figure 3 shows a side-by-side comparison of how each

text utilizes graphics. The graphics are used to demonstrate how to calculate a variance. I

find that left side is more appropriate for entry level students.

Figure 3. Variance Report Comparison. The left side is Braun/Teitz and the right side is Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich.

Exercises

Braun/Tietz

There is an abundance of practice exercises in the Braun/Tietz book. The end of each

chapter offers at least 75 exercises. While I believe the quantity of exercise may exceed what

is necessary for learning and practicing it does allow students many options if they choose to

not work the entire set. There are several sections of questions including, quick check, short

answer, critical thinking and group exercises. The only answers that are provided are for the

ten, multiple choice, and quick check questions that practice each of the learning objectives.

I find this design to be beneficial to students because there is a reasonable number of

problems that can be worked in a timely manner and can immediately determine how much

they understand based on how many they get correct. The remaining questions ae very

involved and require critical thinking and a clear understanding of the material. I think the

critical thinking and group work sections of the exercises are beneficial to classroom

interaction and can encourage students to be inquisitive and pose thoughtful questions to the

class.


At the end of each chapter there are about 45 questions for the student to practice. There first

set of questions is a brief self-test with the answers provided at the end of the exercise

section. The self-test includes multiple choice and true/false questions. The remaining

sections include short, open-ended questions and group discussion questions, none of which

provide the answers. The design of the section is not captivating and does not distinguish

which learning objectives are associated with each question. While students should be able

to identify that information, it is helpful for an entry level student to have as much reference

material as possible. I do find the question list and the group work a valuable asset to

promote critical thinking and offers the student an opportunity to ask questions and gain


further understanding of the material. I think class discussion for beginners is helpful and this

text does a great job of providing a list of thought provoking questions.

Comparison

While both texts offer a similar layout of questions and similarly styled questions I find the

Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich text falls short in comparison to the Braun/Tietz text. The

Braun/Tietz exercises offers more exercises and more opportunities for the student to practice

the material. The quality of questions is similar on each account and therefore the quantity is

an important factor. With focus on the entry level students practice opportunities are

essential to success.


Braun/Tietz

The only known supplemental material for the Braun/Tietz book an online resource center

via the publisher’s website, www.myaccountinglab.com. While this is the only known

resource it is an incredibly valuable one. The accounting lab website offers numerous tools

including:

Additional interactive exercises with immediate feedback

Customized study plans

Step-by-step demonstrations

Video libraries

Calculator Tools

The additional exercises can be helpful to students that are not confident in their level of

understanding of a particular concept because values change with each new attempt allowing

students to practice the same concepts repeatedly and receive immediate feedback.

Customized study plans that track students’ progress can help them prepare for tests by

highlighting their weakest areas. Video libraries also offer an additional option to learning

the material. Having another lecture option is especially helpful for online students.


This text does not offer any known supplemental materials. Supplemental materials are

especially useful for beginners that do not have a basic foundation for the material. The lack

of these materials could pose as a challenge to entry level students.

Comparison

Braun/Tietz is a far superior option to Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich in regards to

supplemental material. Aside from the lack of materials fom the latter, Braun/Tietz has an

exceptional resource for its audience. By allowing the students access to repetitive practice

exercises and immediate feedback they are able to gain confidence and a deeper

understanding of the material than only having access to the unchanged textbook exercises.

Summary of Analysis

To summarize the analysis, Table 1 presets the textbook choices in a side-by-side

comparison. In this visualization you can see that the Braun/Tietz text meets all of the

established criteria.

Table 1. Side-By-Side Comparison of Textbooks

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Criteria Textbook Options

Content Braun/Tietz Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich

Audience Appropriate Yes No

Covers All Learning Objectives Yes Yes

Progressive Concepts Yes Yes

Graphics

Relevant Yes Yes


Aesthetically Appealing Yes No

Exercises


High Quality Yes Yes

Sufficient Quantity Yes Yes



Accessible Yes No

Adds Value Yes No

Conclusion Determining an appropriate textbook for an entry level student is an essential task that can

significantly impact the success of a student. In order to choose the right book there are a

number of criteria that must be considered which include:

Content

Graphics

Exercises


This report provides an analytical review of those four measures in regards to two different

textbooks which are: Managerial Accounting by Karen Wilken Braun and Wendy M. Tietz

and Accounting Principles: A Business Perspective, Managerial Accounting by J.D Edwards,

R.H. Hermanson, and S.D Ivancevich.

Content

Content was measured based on these key points:

Depth of coverage to determine that the necessary learning objectives were

included and were presented in a way that would show a progression from basic

to advanced concepts.

Ensures that an entry level student would be able to read the text and comprehend

the concepts.

Based on the analysis, it was determined that both books cover the necessary learning

objectives and development from basic to advanced concepts. While they both met the basic

necessities it was found that the Edwards/Hermason/Ivancevich option was not the best


option for entry level students. The Braun/Tietz book proved superior for content, as it

included a multitude of background information for each concept and consistently explained

how each new concept relates to the previously learned concepts. There were many real-

world examples that the chapters used to relate the information and demonstrated how to

apply the learned skills to everyday instances.

Graphics

The graphics were measured based on their relevance to the material and they ability to aid in

concept comprehension. For the graphics to be considered relevant it would need to fulfill the

following criteria:

Appropriately technical,

Relevant subject matter,

Provide a visual example of the content

Enhance page design

The Braun/Tietz book had several graphics throughout the entire text. They were all relevant

to the material and not overused simply to fill whitespace or break up long blocks of text,

although they were successful in making the pages more aesthetically appealing. The

graphics were vibrantly colored and not overly technical which could be engaging to entry

level students. The Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich text failed to appropriately address the

entry level audience. The graphics were sparse and lackluster and occasionally overly

technical; an entry level student could easily be overwhelmed by some of the graphics used

causing them to become disinterested in learning. Based on these findings, The Braun/Tietz

book has the better usage of graphics.

Practice Exercises

Practice exercises are essential to comprehension and retaining information. The practice

skills in each of the books were evaluated essentially based on the quality and quantity of the

exercises. Both books offered comparable exercise sections that would give students ample

opportunities to practice their skills and attempt thought-provoking critical thinking

questions. Ultimately, the design of the exercise section played a role in determining which

book was the better choice. The Braun/Tietz had 75 or more questions at the end of each

chapter which could be daunting to students but does provide several occasions to practice

their skills. The layout of the exercises was well organized with each section having its own

segment of exercises. A variety of fonts and styles was also used which may keep students

focused and intrigued. The Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich text had a more manageable

quantity of problems but they were displayed in a list which made it look as if there were far

more exercises; the design also failed to distinguish which problems associated with each

learning objective. Based on these differences, the Braun/Tietz is the better choice for

exercises as they are more appropriate for the entry-level student.

Supplement material

Supplement material is also a helpful resource for students, especially entry level students.

These materials provide another perspective and opportunity to learn outside of the text and

classroom lectures. The comparison of the two texts was simple as the

Edwards/Hermanson/Ivancevich text did not offer any supplemental materials. Even if they

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did offer materials the Braun/Tietz materials would pose stiff competition. The supplemental

resources provided with the text includes:

Additional Exercise

Customize Study Plans

Video Libraries

Step-by-Step Demonstrations

Calculator Tools

Recommendation

The recommended book does not have to be the top choice for each criteria, rather have an

overall advantage. Based on my findings I recommend that the Braun/Tietz book,

Managerial Accounting, be used for this entry-level course because it consistently provides

students with high quality content, graphics, practice exercises, and supplemental material.

managerial accounting textbook recommendation...

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